Famous Wisconsinites

Famous Wisconsinites

Selected Famous Natives and Residents (alive and dead)

Famous Wisconsinites

Selected Famous Natives and Residents (alive and dead)

Jim Lovell

Jim Lovell - Test pilot, NASA Astronaut; born James Arthur Lovell Jr. on March 25, 1928 in Cleveland, Ohio but his family moved to Milwaukee when he was young. Lovell graduated from Juneau High School in Milwaukee and
attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison for two years under the "Flying Midshipman" program.

One of only 24 people to have flown to the Moon, Lovell is most famous as the commander of the Apollo 13 mission, which suffered a critical failure en route to the Moon but was brought back safely to Earth by the efforts of the crew and mission control.

Space flights:

Gemini 7, December, 1965: James Lovell and Frank Borman. This fourteen-day flight set an endurance record making 206 orbits.

Gemini 12, November 1966: James Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin. 18th manned American spaceflight and conclusion of the Gemini program.

Apollo 8, Launched December 21, 1968: Frank Borman, James Lovell and William Anders. The first manned spacecraft to leave Earth orbit, reach the Earth's Moon, orbit it and return safely to Earth.

Apollo 13, Launced April 11, 1970: James A. Lovell Jr., John L. Swigert Jr. and Fred W. Haise Jr. Tthe lunar landing was aborted after an oxygen tank exploded two days after launch, crippling the Service
Module (SM) upon which the Command Module (CM) had depended. Despite great hardship caused by limited power, loss of cabin heat, shortage of potable water, and the critical need to make makeshift repairs to the carbon dioxide removal system, the crew returned safely to Earth on April 17, 1970, six days after launch.
The story of the Apollo 13 mission has been dramatized multiple times, most notably in the 1995 film Apollo 13 where Lovell was portrayed by Tom Hanks.

Famous Wisconsinites

Above: The official portrait of astronaut James Lovell. Next to him is a model of a Titan rocket with a Gemini capsule payload.

Above: Astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr. are welcomed aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Wasp after their Gemini 12 spacecraft splashed down in the Atlantic Ocean on November 15, 1966.